Vibrating well jar



Feb. 7, 1939. w. N. SUTLIFF VIBRATING WELL JAR Filed June 15, 1955 &

IN VEN TOR Mr: Al Jun/FF ATTORNEY Patented i-"eb. 7, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Wayne N. Sntlifl, Bakersfield, Calif assignor to M. 0. Johnston, Glendale, Calif.

Application June 15, 1935, Serial No. 26,805

14Ciaims.

This invention relates to well drilling tools and particularly pertains to a vibrating well jar.

Various types of well jars are provided to be manipulated in the event that the portion of drill string below the well jar becomes lodged in the well bore and cannot bereadily withdrawn. In these structures means are provided to maintain the members producing a jarring blow in 9. normally locked position, and thereafter releasing these members'to produce violent impact. The magnitude of this impact is controlled from above ground and in most instances requires that the entire drill string from the point of lodgement to a point above the ground to and'including the cable, derrick and draw works shall be placed under strain commensurate in some direct degree with the blow required. This often places excessive strain upon weakened parts or joints of the drill string, may pull in the derrick or weaken the cable, and due to the violence of the jarring action may causeother complications in addition to having the tool stick in the well bore. It is the object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a well jar which does not depend upon excessive tension or'torsion strains in the entire well rig and drill string to dislodge the fastened tool or the drill string connected therewith, but utilizes the tension set up in the drill string to the slips of the rotary table only to exert a constant tensile strain upon the fish and then sets up vibration in the entire drill string structure by rotation of the drill string whereby vibration of a predetermined magnitude may be created in the jar and the length of drill string therebeneath and the tool dislodged thereby.

- The present invention contemplates the provision of a well jarring tool adapted to be interposed between lengths oi drill stem, which tool has a casing forming a continuous housing for the well jar, and momentum means therein for setting up a vibration within the well jar housing and the drill string as the drill string is rotated.

- The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a view in central longitudinalsection indicating a well Jar with which the present invention is concerned and further disclosing fragmentary portions of drill string sections between which the jar is interposed.

Fig. 2 is a view in transverse section through the tool as seen on the line 22 of Fig. l, and showing the upper portion of the interlocking elements.

Fig. 3 is a view in elevation as seen on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and discloses the developed circular surface of the housing member and the lock passageways therein.

Fig. 4 is a view in section and elevation showing the jarring cams and lock means holding them in their inoperative relation to each other. 5

Fig. 5 is a-view in transverse section as seen. on the line 55 of Fig. 1, showing the splined connection between the hammer and the housing of the jar.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, I0 10 indicates the lower end of an. upper drill string .section carrying a box to receive a pin H of a mandrel i2. This mandrel extends downwardly and is formed with a centralfluid passageway l3 therethrough. At the lower end of the mandrel 15 is a threaded counterbore i4 receiving a tubular wash pipe H which extends through a lower sub I 5 threaded to the upper end of a lower drill string section H. A suitable packing gland i8 packs the lower end of the wash pipe 55 so that the 20 pipe may reciprocate therethrough in a manner to be hereinafter described without leakage of fluid-therearound. The lower sub i6 is threaded at its upper end to a tubular well jar housing l9v which housing is threaded at its upper end to a 25 lock and packing sleeve 20 through which the mandrel l2 extends. A counterbore at the upper end of the sleeve 20 receives packing 2| held in place by a packing gland 22 which is threaded into the mouth of the counterbore. Thus it will so be seen that the mandrel l2 and its wash pipe may reciprocate longitudinally through an outer struce ture which includes the packing sleeve 20, the housing is, and the lower sub it. These parts are locked, however, against this longitudinal move- 35 ment by a key 23 which is carried by the mandrel l2 and normally rests in an offset groove 24 formed in the inner face of the lock and packing sleeve 20, as more particularly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing. A longitudinal groove 25 leads 4o upwardly from the offset recess 24 and communicates with an annular recess 26 which circumscribes the mandrel completely and makes it possible for rotation of the mandrel to take place in producing a vibrating action to be hereinafter 45 described. Adjacent to the lower end of the mandrel i2 there is formed an enlarged cylindrical portion 21 which provides a shoulder 28 cooperating with a shoulder 29 at the end of a counterbore 30 formed in the lock and pack- 50 ing sleeve 20. interposed between these shoulders is a pair of anti-friction bearing elements 3! and 32 for a purpose to be hereinafter described. Formed on the end of the enlarged portion 21 of the mandrel I2 is a plurality of vibrating cams ll. 55

These cams are characterized as extending contr'ally disposed washpipe l5. It is held in its uppermost position by an expansion spring 31 which is disposed beneath it, and maintained under a desired tension by a washer 38 carried on the washpipe l5, and a lock nut 39 holding the washer in an adjusted position. The upper end of the hammer is formed with cam members 33 which are complementary to the cam members 33 formed on the end of the mandrel l2. These cam members also have longitudinal shoulders 35' which may abut against the shoulders 33 of the cam members on the mandrel and inclined faces 34 which register with and move against similar faces 34 of the mandrel. An end shoulder 40 is formed on the upper end of the hammer 36 and engages an anvil face 4| formed on the lower end of the lock and packing sleeve 20. Impact between the shoulders 10 and M imparts a vibrating and jarring motion to the entire well jar and drill string. Attention is directed to the fact that normally there is a clearance space as indicated at 42 between the faces 34 and 34 of the vibrating cams so that it will be insured that the jarring blows will be impartedfrom the hammer 36 to the lock and packing sleeve 20 through faces 40 and ti, and thence to the housing 59 and through the sub to the lower drill string section. The hammer 33 is mounted for reciprocation within the housing l9 and held against rotation by a key '33 extending radially from the hammer and engaging a longitudinally extending spline 4B in the inner wall face of the housing l 0.

r In operation of the present invention the well jar is assembled as shown in the drawing and interposed between sections of drill string Iii and E1. The jar is set with the nut 39 and the washer 38 creating a desired amount of compression upon spring 31 and with thei lock key 23 moved downwardly and into the offset .recess 26 of the locking and packing sleeve 23. The jar is lowered into the hole and the drilling operations are continued in the usual manner with rotation of the drill string in a clockwise direction. The engagement of the key 23 with the wall of the recess 24% when the mandrel is rotating in a clockwise direction will act to drive the housing 50 and the lower drill string section. At this time the shoulders 23 and 23' of the vibrating cams 33 and 33' will be locked against each other to prevent relative rotation. When it is desired to dislodge the drill string or the, tools carried thereby the drill string is. rotated and key 23 is moved in counterclockwise direction until it is in longitudinal alignment with the groove 25, after which it is raised to register with the annular groove 23. When the key 23 is released from the recess 24! and is raised into the annular recess 2d, the mandrel l2 and the'hammer 26 will simultaneously raise. This will also bring the anti-friction bearing elements 3i and 32 into register sothat when the drill string is placed under tension it will be possible for the mandrel i2 and the housing it to rotate freely with relation to each other. The draw works is then operated to put the drill string under a desired tension. In

,shoulders 35 and 35' come' to register.

doing this the drill string will be stretched.

While thus stretched and under tensile strain, it

is set with relation to a rotary table 52 by slips 53. The rotary table is then rotated at a desired speed and the upper length I 0 of drill string will be rotated in unison therewith while maintained under the set amount of tension. The rotation of the upper drill string and the mandrel l2 may then be continued in a clockwise direction and as the inclined faces 34 and 34' of the cams ride over each other the hammer 36 will be alternately moved downwardly against the compression of the spring 31 and then suddenly released whenthe vertical The result will be that the expansion of spring 31 will cause a violent upward motion of the hammer 36 to deliver a'blow from the impact face 40 to the anvil 4!. In practice a blow of 24000 lbs. has

been used satisfactorily. The depth of the vibrating cams is such as to cause a space 42 to occur between the cams when the impact face 40 is in engagement with the anvil face 4!; the vibrating blow will be delivered directly to the sleeve 20 and transmitted therethrough to the housing l9 and the drill string section attached thereto and suspended therefrom. It will be evident that rotation of the upper drill string section will control the vibrating action, and that the rapidity of this action will be in direct proportion to the speed at which the upper drill string section is rotated. During this vibrating action the drill rig and draw works are completely without strain since tension is held in the drill string by the slips and rotary table. It will be apparent that as the vibration takes place and the fish is gradually loosened, the drill string will contract as tension is relieved and the stretch leaves the string. It will also be noted that in the event tension is not imposed upon the upper drill string section the vibrating force will be the force predetermined when the compression of spring 31 was established by adjustment of the nut 33 before the tool was lowered into the well, and that if desired tension is required, this may be imposed upon the drill string without in any wise interfering with the vibrating operation obtained.

It will thus be seen that the structure here disclosed is simple in construction and operation, is not'subject to violent shock which might prove damaging to it, and may be readily operated to produce a far greater number of vibrating impulses than is possible with the ordinary well jar. While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, as now known to me, it will be understood that varlous changes might be made in the combination, construction, and arrangement of parts by those skilled-in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A vibrating well jar comprising a pair of members telescoping one within the other, each of said members being connected to a section of drill string, means normally locking said members against relative movement and adapted to be released to permit rotation of the members with relation to each other, a separate impact means rotatable with one of said telescoping members having free longitudinal movement with relation to both of said members and means acting thereagainst to impart a jarring blow to the jar structure as said rotation takes place.

2. A vibrating well jar comprising a pair of members telescoping one within the other, each of said members being connected to a section of drill string, means normally locking said members against relative movement and adapted to be released to permit rotation of the members with relation to each other, a separate impact means rotatable with one of said telescoping members for free longitudinal movement with relation to both of said members and means acting thereagainst to impart a jarring blow to thejar structure as said rotation takes place, and adjustable means contained within the jar for determining the magnitude of blow delivered by the separate impact member.

3. A vibrating well jar comprising jar elements adapted to telescope one within the other, each of said elements being-secured to a drill string section, means for locking said elements against relative longitudinal movement, and for releasing the elements so that they may rotate one with relation to the other, a separate impact member mounted in one of said elements for longitudinal movement, cooperating means between said impact member and'the other jar element to produce longitudinal movement of the impact member, and spring means tending to resist said longitudinal motion of the impact means and to deliver a succession of blows to the other jar element when the jar elements are rotated with relation to each other.

4. A vibrating well jar comprising a mandrelsecured to an upper drill string section, a tubular housing secured to a lower drill string section and into which said mandrel extends, means limiting longitudinal movement of the mandrel and the tubular housing with relation to each other,

means producing driving engagement between the mandrel and the tubular housing, whereby the mandrel and the housing may rotate in unison, and whereby the mandrel and the housing may be released to have relative rotational movement, a separate longitudinally moving impact member mounted within the housing and adapted to be moved freely and longitudinally upon relative rotational movement of the mandrel and the housing, and yieldable means for resisting said movement.

5. A vibrating well jar comprising a mandrel secured to an upper drill string section, a tubular housing secured to, a lower drill string sectionand into which said mandrel extends, means limiting longitudinalmovement of the mandrel and the tubular housing with relation to each other, means producing driving engagement between the mandrel and the tubular housing, whereby the mandrel and the housing may rotate in unison, and whereby the mandrel and the housing may be released to have relative rotational movement, a separate longitudinally moving impact member freely mounted within the housing and adapted to be moved longitudinally upon relative rotational movement of the mandrel and the housing, yieldable means for resisting said movement, and means for adjusting the same.

'6. A vibrating well jar comprising a mandrel secured to an upper drill string section, a tubular housing secured .to a lower drill string section and into which said mandrel extends, means limiting longitudinal movement of the mandrel and the tubular housing with relation to each other, means producing driving engagement between the mandrel and the tubular housing whereby the mandrel and the housing may rotate in unison, and whereby the mandrel and the housing may be released to have relative rotational movement, a

separate longitudinally moving impact member freely mounted within the housing and adapted to drel telescopes, complementary shoulders on the housing and the mandrel whereby upward move-v ment of the mandrel with relation to the housing will be limited, an impact member longitudinally slidable within the housing and adaptedto abut against the mandrel, vibrating cam faces formed upon the abutting ends of the impact member and the mandrel, an impact shoulder carried by the housing and against which the impact member strikes, and yieldable means for holding the end of the impact member against said shoulder and for delivering a. blow thereto by the impact member as relative rotational movement takes'place.

8. A vibrating well jar comprising a mandrel adapted .to be secured to an upper drill string section, a tubular housing adapted to be lowered into the drill string section; and into which the mandrel telescopes, complementary shoulders on I the housing and the mandrel whereby upward movement of the mandrel with relation to the housing will be limited, an impact member longitudinally slidable within the housing and adapted to abut against the mandrel, vibrating cam faces formed upon the abutting ends of the impact member and the mandrel, an impact shoulder carried by the housing and against which the impact member strikes, yieldable means for holding,

the end of the impact member against said shoulder and. for delivering a blow thereto by the impact member as relative rotational movement takes place, and means for adjusting the force of said yieldable means. a

9. A vibrating well jar comprising a mandrel adapted to be secured to an upper drill string section, a tubular housing adapted to be lowered into the drill string section, and into which the mandrel telescopes, complementary shoulders on the housing and the mandrel whereby upward movement of the mandrel with relation to the housing will be limited. an impact memberlongitudinally slidable within the housing and adapted to abut against the, mandrel, vibrating cam faces formed upon the abutting ends of the impact member and the mandrel, an impact shoulder carried by the housing and against which the impact member strikes, yieldable means for holding the end of the impact member against said shoulder and for delivering a blow thereto by the impact member as relative rotational movement takes place, and means whereby fluid circulation may be maintained through the well jar at all times.

'10. A vibrating well jar comprising a mandrel adapted to be secured to an upper drill string section, a tubular housing adapted to be secured to the lower drill string section and into which the mandrel telescopes, locking means normally holding the mandrel and the tubular housing in an non-extending non-rotating position with relation to each other and whereby said mandrel and housing may be extended with relation to each other to have relative rotary movement, an impact member mounted within the tubular housing for longitudinal movement, a hammer face at the end oi said impact member, an anvil face on the tubular housing, yieldable means normally holding said faces in abutting relation to each other, and cooperating means upon the impact member and the mandrel whereby relative rotation of the mandrel and the body will produce an intermittent jarring below between said hammer and anvil faces.

11. A vibrating well jar comprising a mandrel secured to a section of a 'drill string, a tubular housing secured to another section of a drill string and into which said mandrel extends, means limiting longitudinal movement of the mandrel and the tubular housing with relation to each other, means producing driving engagement between the mandrel and the tubular housing, whereby the mandrel and the housing may rotate in unison, and whereby the mandrel and the housing may be released to have relative rotational movement, a separate longitudinally moving impact member mounted within the housing and adapted to be moved freely and longi-' tudinally upon relative rotational movement of the mandrel and the housing, and yieldable means for resisting said movement.

12. A rotary jar comprising a body, a stem adapted to extend'into said body, tool coupling means on'the stem, releasable drive means between said body and stem, a head secured to the stem, a sleeve journaled on the stem, co-acting cam surfaces on the head and sleeve, driving pins extending from the body into said sleeve, and springmeans yieldably urging said cam surfaces together. a

13. A vibrating well jar comprising a pair of members telescoping one within the other, each of said members being connected to a section or drill string, means normally locking said members against relative movement and adapted to be released to permit rotation of the members with relation to each other and a separate impact means adapted to impart a jarring blow to the jar structure as said rotation takes place.

-14. A vibrating well jar comprising Jar elements adapted to telescope one within the other, each of said elements being secured to a drill string section, means for locking said elements against relative longitudinal movement, and for releasing the elements so that they may rotate one with relation to the other, a separate impact member mounted in one of said elements for longitudinal movement, cooperating means between said impact member and the other jar element to produce longitudinal movementof the impact member and spring means tending to resist said longitudinal motion of the impact means and to deliver a succession of blows to the other jar element when the jar elements are rotated with relationto each other.

WAYNE N. scrim. an 

